By Stormi O'Donnell
SecureWorld Media
Ever wonder how long it would take a hacker to crack your password? Now, there's a website for that. BetterBuys.com launched an online tool that allows you test how long it would take to breach an account. The website even takes it a step further by allowing you to see how long it would take a hacker to crack a password in the future. According to the site, in 2014 nearly half of Americans had their information exposed to cybercriminals.
You'd think by now that we would "get it" and create longer, more complicated passwords. However, year after year, the most common passwords remain unbelievably simple. I thought it would be fun to test a few of the top passwords of 2015. Drum roll, please....
The top password of 2015 was "123456". I'm no hacker, but I could most likely crack into this account in a few minutes. So how long would it take an actual hacker? According to the site it would take .29 milliseconds. Number two on the most common list is "password," which would also take just .29 milliseconds to crack.
So what's the key to getting your password right?
When it comes to passwords, keep in mind that size matters. The longer, the better. This infographic from BetterBuys.com gives you an idea of just how much length matters.
Also, simply adding an "A" in front of "123456" takes passwords from being hacked in less than a second to being hacked (as the website states) when Leonardo DiCaprio is 78 years old. Make sure to mix things up by adding upper and lower case letters, numbers, and other characters.
This seems so simple!
You're probably thinking that this article is too simple to be effective, but data doesn't lie. If your company is breached, you will most likely find that a human caused it. Almost half of all Americans have been hacked, so it's a good idea to pass this information around. After all, your bottom line could depend on it.
